Method of making novelty displays



Feb. 2l, 1950 J. E. 1E| l: M.`1\1vI METHOD OF' MAKING NOVELTY DISPLAYS Filed May 28, 1948 .ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 195o uiu-.ireio stares-1 f METHODLGF NOVELTY DISPLAYS-i1 JohnaEJgFldman,.Garfield,`.N.` E.; assigner. t United l States' Rubber Company, Ne,w"5l'ol'k,`v N. YL', a corporationof- New-'Jersey Application Mayes, 194s,.seria1No. -29,ss5

misiles.y (o1. 1847.5)

This :inventionrelates 4to .a novel-display device` foradvertising,; ,educationa1,. .entertainment and similar .purposesrand `to .the method. of makl ing. same.-4

More particularly;.this..invention .relates toa display vdevice and .theflikecomprising ;a relatively large article lin aatransparent container. having a. relativelysmall .openingrthe-said rarticle being@ too ,large .to be-passedthrough lthe .small open` ing in .the,container..

In..accordance..with .this s invention, ymy. novel device is,.producedeby'ormingaminiature of. the

desired. article .froman fexpandablefresin body,- inserting .the. saidv miniature .through .the smalle mouth.. of a transparent..` display container, ,andA

expanding the Aminiature .article :inthe container to .manytimes its .originalsizefbyvthe application. of heat.' Upon coolingpthe,articlesretainsits ex- -v pandcdsize and shape, and...tl'ie.-size.ofv the. article is `much..tco,.gr,eat. to, permit .the .articleto .bei passed throughthe '.relatively.. narrow mouth of.

the display Acontainer;-

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic` representation .of the .essentialsteps of my invention.

Inthe drawing-1' Fig. 1 shows the miniature article .which has been formed under heat "and pressure andwhich contains 'the `gas liberatedduring ,its Fformation by' .therina1` decomposition. of the chemical. agent, said gas being inthe form of yerysmallbubbles under pressure.

Fig. `2 vshows insertion.` of 'the formed miniature through the smallfm'outhof the displayontainer, and

Fig. 3 shows theiinal expanded article in the display container.v`

Considering a 'specid'embodimentz of 'the invention in more detail; my'novel display device, is 'produced as follows?` A'paste or 'Viscous fluid. l (nlastisol) is formed from"'a" finely' powdered' thermoplastic resin; such-'asa-'vinylresin; and a plasticizer in which theresin'will -not vreadily dis:

solve at roomv temperature butinw'hich kthe resin" will 'dissolve' at v elevated temperatures" A small" quantity `of 'a 'blowingiagenu that 'isf-a 'chemical substance is lcapablesofiliberatingages' on Vheating to 'elevated temperature,- istiriclided4 in the mixture.Av A-'vmold rwhichI has the shape of the desired articlekbutwhichfisomy a small frac:

tion, sax/about 1/ zsrthe size ofthe desired "article,Y`

is-lled with this''pastef The'lmoldis closed-"and placed in a press; iandheated *underpressuretd a'temperature vsuilciei'itly"h'igl'itto' cause theresin'" to dissolve. in the ifplasticizenrand "tof" cause-the 2f blowing agent to liberate gas. The mold is thereaftercooled, while. continuingto maintain the..

moldunder. pressure. When the mold iscooled substantially .below the softeningtemperature of the kresin the mold may be opened to yield the shaped but unexpanded thermoplastic article, which is now in thesolid state due to solutionv of the resin in the plasticizer under thefiniluence of the heat.4 The.articleiswaJ miniature replica off the .desired 'display article, and thegas which was generated by decomposition. of the vblowing agenti during the heating step is contained underfpressure inyery smallv pores permeating .the rigid thermoplastic mass... Referringto.. the accompanying dreuyirig-this stepis illustrated inA Fig-.f 1, wherein a miniature representation-of!l an alligator isformed.. The ysmall shaped article is. now introduced thro-ugh a smallmouth in. a `transparent display vcontainer.

the article, .suitably bypouring Warm WaterV into the container, to soften the thermoplastic resin..

and `Cause. thelarticle to expand to many/times,

e. g., 25 times, its original size, under .the influence ci the .pressure of the gas-contained-in the innumerable' cells throughoutthe body of the article. This step is Vshownin Fig. 3 in the drawing. When theartiole is cooled, the thermoplastic. resinhecomes rigidlonce more, and the article` substantially retains its expanded size and shape indeiinitely. In this expandedstate, the size of the' article is much too `great to permit the article to. be passed. throughthe relatively narrow.

mouth of the vdisplay, container.'

Instead of molding the .miniature expandable' body directlyvin the desired shape, I may form' theA miniature article in otherways, such as by` cutting, or carving, or stamping, etc., the desired" miniature shape Trompa previously formed expandable thermoplastic resin body.

The 'expandable thermoplastic resin body may' be'preparedfrom vvarious mixtures of resins,`

plasticizers and blowing` agents known Ato the art.``

For example, I may employvvarious known" thermoplastic vinyl resins,'preferably polyvinyl chier-ideencopolymers of vinyl chloride with 2 tofl5% of vinyl acetate Ior,V the like,v:or-mixturesf of various thermoplastic r.resins having suitable I prefer-to use polyvinyl physical properties; chloride itself;

Various plasticizers known in the resin'art may be used. in myprocess, e. g.,. di-.(2ethylheXyl) phthalate, tricresylphosphate, dibutyl phthalate,

,and other. highboilin'g estera-ethers; etc. l The4 This step,- is shown vin- Fi.- 2 in the drawing..- Heat is now` applied to4 plasticizer employed should be one which is capable of being mixed with the iinely powdered resin without substantially dissolving same until heat is applied to the mixture.

The quantity of plasticizer used should be sufcient to form a butter-like paste or a viscous liquid and such that a normally solid product results after the heating step. The proportion of plasticizer may range from 1/2 to 4 parts per part of the resin. Usually a proportion of from 65 to 100 parts of plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride is employed.

The blowing agent which is employed in the expandable resin stock is preferably a nitrogenproducing blowing agent, preferably alpha,alpha' azobisisobutyronitrile, although other nitrogenproducing blowing agents, e. g., diazoaminobenzene, 1,3-bis(oxenyl) -triazene, 1,3bis(p xenyl) triazene, etc., may be employed. Blowing agents which produce other gases such as ammonia or carbon dioxide may be used if desired. Among such may be mentioned sodium bicarbonate with oleic acid, ammonium carbonate, mixtures of ammonium chloride and sodium nitrite, etc.

' The quantity of the blowing agent used will vary with the density or degree or cellularity desired in the nal article and the particular blowing agent employed. Generally from 12 to 40 parts, for example, of alpha, a1pha'azobisiso butyronitrile per 100 parts by weight of resin are suitable.

It is also advantageous to employ a small quantity of a heat or light stabilizer, such as 2 to 5 parts of calcium stearate per 100 parts by weight of polyvinyl chloride.

The plasticizer, the powdered thermoplastic resin and other ingredients may be mixed at room temperature by any known means to form a butter-like paste or viscous liquid, which is capable of being gelled by heating a short time (e. g., 5 to 15 minutes) at elevated temperatures (e. g., 20D-350 F.) During this heating step the material is confined in a mold under pressure, and the gas which is produced by the chemical blowing agent as a result of the heating is contained in very iine pores throughout the resinous mass. The mass is cooled while it is in the mold until it is rigid enough to retain the gas without expanding substantially.

` After inserting the article in a small mouth transparent container, the expansion step may be carried out by heating the article by any known means to a temperature sufliciently high to soften the resin. For example, the expansion may be carried out by placing the assembly in a heated fluid medium, as in a warm oven, or warm water may be poured directly into the container. A temperature of 50 to 109 C. will generally be found suitable for this purpose, depending on the softening temperature of the particular resin composition used.

The following example illustrates my invention in more detail.

The following formulation is prepared:

Parts by weight Resin (polyvinyl chloride) 100 Stabilizer (calcium stearate) 3 Plasticizer (di-Z-ethylhexyl phthalate) 70 Blowing agent (alpha,alpha-azobisisobutyronitrile) 30 The resin, stabilizer and blowing agent are dry mixed, whereupon the plasticizer is stirred The mix is passed three times through a meat chopper to transform it into a homogeneous paste. Both halves of a split mold having a cavity in the form of an alligator are lled with the paste, a slight excess being added to one mold half to insure a coherent article being formed when the mold is closed. The filled and closed mold is heated eight minutes in a press at a platen temperature of 330 F. (90 lbs. steam) at a mold closing pressure of 3600 p. s. i.; it is then cooled seven minutes whereupon it is opened and the miniature alligator is removed. The alligator is passed through the mouth of a narrow mouth bottle. Warm water C.) is poured into the bottle, whereupon the alligator expands slowly to about 25 times its original size. The water is poured out after about 15 minutes, and the alligator, which is now much too large to be passed through the mouth of the bottle, retains its expanded shape and size indenitely.

The resinous material (preferably a polyvinyl chloride-plasticizer mixture) used should be one which at ordinary temperatures, say at room temperature, is sufficiently hard and rigid to retain the gas so that the miniature will retain the gas therein until the expanding step.

My invention is preferably carried out with a so-called plastisol, i. e., a paste or dispersion of the powdered resin and a plasticizer therefor which is capable of dissolving the same upon heating to moderately elevated temperatures to form a solution which upon cooling to room temperature assumes a hard rigid form. The techniques of using plastisols are now well-known. See for example the article A New Technique in Coatings, by G. M. Howell and R. W. Quarles, appearing in Oflicial Digest, published by the Federation of Paint and Varnish Production Clubs, issue #263, December, 1946.

The final expanded body is rigid and unyielding and cannot be withdrawn through the relatively small opening of the transparent container. The iinal body has a closed-cell type of expanded structure.

' It will be understood that the ratio of the final size of the expanded article to the size of the miniature may vary within wide limits so long as the miniature is capable of being passed through the opening while the iinal article is not; the ratio of nal to miniature volumes may conveniently range from 50:1 to 2:1. It will be understood that the degree of expansion will depend upon many factors including amount and type of blowing agent, conditions of blowing and expansion, permeability of the plastic to the liberated gas, etc.

From the foregoing it is evident that my improved method of putting a large object into a small-mouth container has many advantages. The process may be carried out easily with readily available thermoplastic materials which lend themselves to production of an infinite variety of shapes with various color or surface texture eiects. Multi-colored articles may be readily prepared by my method by filling different parts of the mold with diierently pigmented plastic mixtures. the example may be made with a green or mottled green back and a yellow underside by filling the upper and lower halves of the mold with suitably pigmented plastic mixes. I believe that no prior method is capable of making large display articles in narrow mouth containers so conveniently and with such a variety of interesting` effects as thepresent invention. vMy display articles are particularly For instance, the alligator shown inf.

advan tageo'us as an advertising means for thoseI products which are normally sold in small mouth glass containers.

Having thus described my invention, whatll claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of forming a relatively large solid object in a relatively small-mouthed transparent container, said object being of such size and characteristics that it cannot be passed through the mouth of said container, which comprises molding under heat and pressure a plastic coinposition comprising polyvinyl chloride, a plasticizer therefor, and a chemical blowing. agent capable upon heating of generating an expanding gas, into the shape of said objectjbutin miniature thereof and of such size that,l it can be introduced through the mouth of said cntainer, conducting said molding step atja` temperature sufficiently elevated to decompose ,sfaid blowing agent with generation of said,V gas v-and to effect solution of said polyvinyl chloride in s'aid plasticizer to form a material which is solid at room temperature, conducting said molding :step under such pressure that said gas is held 4inthe resulting plastic composition, cooling the molded article while confined in the mold until it is rigid enough to retain said gas Without expanding substantially, introducing the cooled molded miniature `article into said transparent container through the mouth thereof, and then heating.` said article in said container and causing it to` expand to said relatively large solid object of such size and characteristics that it cannot be passed through the mouth of said container.

2. A method for forming a relatively large solid object in a relatively small-mouthed transparent container, said object being of such size and characteristics that it cannot be passed through the mouth of said container, which comprises molding under heat and pressure a plastic composition comprising a thermoplastic resin, a plasticizer therefor, and a chemical blowing agent capable upon heating of generating an expanding gas,into the shape of said object but in miniature thereof and of such size that it can be introduced through the mouth of said container, conducting said molding step at a temperature suilciently elev-ated to decompose said blowing agent with generation of said gas and to effect solutiongof said resin in said plasticizer to form a material which is solid at room temperature, conducting said molding step under such pressure that said gas is held in the resulting plastic composition, cooling the molded article while confined inthe mold until it is rigid enough to retain said gas without expanding substantially, introducing the cooled molded miniature article into saidtransparent container through the mouth thereof, and then heating said article in said container and causing it to expand to said relatively large solid object o1 such size and characteristics that it cannot be passed through the mouth of said container.

JORDI E. FELDMAN.

REFERENCES CITEDy The following ureferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Expanded Polystyrene, Modern Plastics, March 1945; page 106. 

